Northwestern basketball wants to be Nebraska. There's a litany of challenges to beat to get there

Fred Hoiberg and Chris Collins were chatting before Saturday’s game, when Collins had a realization.

These Nebraska Cornhuskers reminded Collins of some of his older Northwestern teams. The obvious caveat is that Northwestern never reached as high as No. 8 in the AP Poll.

But those teams of old played cohesive basketball.

"We were never 18-0, but just watching how they play they remind me a lot of our best teams," Collins said. "Everybody was just locked in and helping each other out and playing off of each other."

Unfortunately, in Evanston, that was then.

The now is a team on the heels of a fifth-straight loss, sitting at 8-10 overall.

"We haven't been able to find that with this group," Collins said.

This year was always going to be full of growing pains. Now, Northwestern starts two true freshmen in its lineup along with two transfers alongside its All-Big Ten player.

Nebraska is what Collins wants his team to be. Balancing the present day with the future is going to be the biggest challenge for the Wildcats.

Big picture view:

Collins went down the list. There are multiple fifth-year players on Nebraska’s roster. 

"Sam Hoiberg's a fifth-year guy. I mean, Rienk Mast is a fifth-year guy," Collins said. "These guys, they're older. They weren't playing any true freshmen." 

There are reasons Northwestern has struggled this year. Collins said after the game Saturday that the ‘Cats just need to get mentally tougher. That’s easier said than done with this team.

Jake West, Tyler Kropp, Tre Singleton and Phoenix Gill are just a few of one of Collins’ best recruiting classes at NU. As much as Northwestern wants to be Nebraska, that peak won’t come this season. It probably won’t come next year, either.

This is a multi-year process where the peak and best moments will come years down the road. Collins understands this. Building for the future in college basketball in this era of college sports is difficult.

A "what have you done for me lately" business doesn’t find patience beguiling the slightest. Fred Hoiberg was able to do it at Nebraska, but not before finally breaking through with a tournament team in the 2024 season.

Balancing patience and the process is hard for a NU program that’s set the NCAA Tournament as a standard. The process is difficult to endure. The younger players need these bruises, and those bruises need to callous over for this core of players to understand how to win.

Consider the team bruised. But, Northwestern still wants to find a way to get a couple this season anyway. 

"It ain't fun for anybody," Collins said. "But we got 13 of these things left and we gotta try to find a way to win one."

What they're saying:

The ‘Cats also have the respect of the league. At first glance, that’s a well-earned product of winning games and going to the tournament.

But, that also means they won’t be overlooked or trifled with.

Illinois is a great example. The Illini have lost at Welsh-Ryan Arena in the last two seasons, and they’ve been a consistent tournament team for years.

"No one has more respect for Chris Collins than I do," Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said on Wednesday. "This team is going to be a pain in the rear end to deal with for the next few years."

That respect carried to Saturday.

Hoiberg, who has built Nebraska into a national power, sees the grit the ‘Cats play with. He sees this Northwestern team doing exactly what they need at some point, which is winning games.

Even with a struggling team, the Big Ten won’t take NU lightly.

"This team very easily could have four conference wins. They continue to come out and play extremely hard," Hoiberg said. "They play with a lot of heart. I think they take on Chris's personality with their toughness and this team's gonna win some games. There's no doubt in my mind."

What's next:

Those wins might not come against teams like Nebraska this season. They might come down the road. First, Northwestern needs to plant the seed.

"You live in the now, so you're competing for the now," Collins said. "That's what's tough."

The now is an 8-10 record. Collins noted Martinelli has never had a losing season at Northwestern. The ‘Cats need to get a Big Ten win to avoid that.

Collins has more than hope. He has faith in his players. He knows how dangerous confidence can be for young players. Once they see it happen once, it can keep happening.

"Kids are kids, man," Collins said. "All of a sudden you get a little confidence. You get a little momentum and maybe one can string into two and two into three."

Making it happen once, though, is the challenge for this Northwestern team. They can’t worry about what this team can be in the future. They need to find ways to make sure this team gains the confidence to get there.

"That's the challenge for us right now," Collins